Data processing and telecommunications computer centers typically have a number of locked enclosures in a room that contains a number of computer servers. The servers are generally stacked and mounted vertically in standardized racks, i.e., server cabinets which are typically about 19 inches wide. Many of these computer centers utilize raised floor air conditioning systems that deliver cool air to the bottom of the server cabinets via holes or perforations in the floor tiles underneath the cabinet.
Computer server designs are becoming more compact in size, specifically height, and provide more capability. Thus, more servers may be fit into the same sized cabinet, thereby generating more heat inside the cabinet.
Most server designs are cooled internally by employing, small axial fans which draw cool air in from the front of the server and exhaust warmer air out the back of the server. As stated above, the reduced height servers may be packed more densely within the cabinet. This may result in the temperature near the top of the enclosure being much warmer than the air near the cool air provided at the floor of the cabinet. This increase in heat may reduce the performance and durability of the server components.
One approach to cooling servers in a server rack uses a radial fan located in a generally rectangular internal cavity of a housing mounted on rails. The fan housing is mounted horizontally over an aperture located, for example, in a floor of the enclosure. The fan is located at one end of the housing in the internal cavity. The housing may include an opening in the top of the surface housing at an opposite end to permit air flow out of the housing.
However, the generally rectangular shape of the interior housing results in an uneven air flow out of the fan housing, which again, may result in reduced performance and durability of the server components.
The present invention is aimed at one or more of the problems identified above.